Computers, processors and software executing on such devices are increasingly incorporated into more and more components of everyday life and (especially with high level code) processors and supporting components and operating systems are increasingly versatile. Moreover, the speed with which revisions and new versions of software code are published or otherwise made available has resulted in a growing occurrence of users downloading software, such as applications over the Internet or other network, to update functionality or install “fixes” that address errors in operation. As part of this process, the downloaded software is installed on the target machine. Complications arise when installation errors occur, e.g., communication links are severed or other mishaps occur prior to completion of installation. This is increasingly true as networks incorporate or move altogether to wireless communication.
Enterprise-wide software distribution or deployment may involve a large number of downloads and installs, including updates and service packs, and presents particular challenges and involves considerable administrative resources. Remote installation, e.g., MSI and EXE software, is increasingly popular as a way to more productively manage system-wide needs across a large network, such as a Windows-based network. Client/Server architecture for instance facilitates installation and allows access across a network via a browser. Generally, the term bootstrapper refers to a software application that is invoked to manage the installation of another software application and its required/prerequisite software components. Basic bootstrappers typicaily perform a few checks and then launch a single software application installer, e.g., MSI (Microsoft Installer—file extension) installations. Advanced bootstrappers, sometimes called chainers, have greater capabilities and do more than merely run a single software application installer. An example of a complex bootstrapper is the Microsoft ClickOnce bootstrapper that is included with Microsoft Virtual Studio 2005 and used in deploying Microsoft .NET and other applications. MSBuild is a Microsoft build engine that provides an XML-based project file format used to create and edit extensible build solutions. MSBuild may be used to generate a product specific bootstrapper manifests, e.g., ClickOnce bootstrapper. MSBuild generates a product specific manifest that is embedded into the bootstrapper binary executable. The manifest is then read by the bootstrapper when it is running.
A need exists for an improved installation technique that will facilitate multiple product installations while minimizing downtime, rebooting, and other detrimental side-effects experienced by the user. In addition, when the multiple products to be downloaded have different installation experiences, a need exists for a technique to manage, coordinate and simplify—to the user—the overall download and install process and to provide a more reliable, resilient installation experience. With the growing number of software applications available to users, there is a growing need to streamline the process of downloading desired software. Compounding this problem is code that is often written to run in conjunction with other underlying or prerequisite code. Due to this, the process of downloading software may require multiple downloads.
Advanced applications often require multiple installation steps, prerequisites, and application installation package or packages. Examples of such an application, solution, or suite are eTools, ePractice Aids, and SMART ePractice Aids provided by Thomson Tax & Accounting. In the process of downloading a solution or multiple set of solutions the managing component analyzes target system information to determine required prerequisites. Often, users must halt running instances of existing applications to facilitate download and installation processes. Optionally, users may be informed of the need for installation of prerequisites. In addition, the installation process may involve dynamically organizing the installation sequence.
One of the problems with existing techniques is that the installation experience across multiple products is often not consistent to the user and is further complicated when involving and viewing multiple license agreements. Different user interfaces result in different user experiences and a complicated download/install process. As an example, one of the issues with the Microsoft ClickOnce bootstrapper is that if the installation fails for any reason, any prerequisites that had not been installed are automatically downloaded again. This can be very frustrating to a user and especially when the user has to experience a second, third, etc. download of 50 MBytes of software, for example, again just to try the installation again. There is little control over the ClickOnce bootstrapper and other installation bootstrappers, e.g. suppressing reboots; returning status codes indicating success, failure, reboot, etc.; and keeping the bootstrapper running until all prerequisites and application are installed.